Quick Answer: The best family dice games are Yahtzee (ages 8+), Farkle (ages 8+), Tenzi (ages 7+), and Pig (ages 6+). All require only standard six-sided dice, have simple rules, and can be played by 2-10+ players without a board.
Simple Dice Games (Ages 5+)
- Pig: Roll a die and accumulate points. If you stop rolling, you bank your score. Roll a 1 and you lose all unbanked points for that turn. First to 100 wins. Ages 6+, 2-8 players, just one d6.
- Going to Boston: Roll 3 dice, set aside the highest, roll the remaining 2, set aside the highest, roll the last one. Sum the three set-aside dice. Highest total wins the round. Ages 6+.
- Bunco: A social dice game for groups of 12 played in rounds. Players try to roll target numbers as fast as possible. Ages 8+, 12 players, 3 standard dice.
Classic Family Dice Games (Ages 8+)
- Yahtzee: Roll 5 dice up to 3 times per turn, aiming to complete scoring categories (three of a kind, full house, large straight, Yahtzee). Score-card based. 2-8 players.
- Farkle: Roll 6 dice and score matching sets. Keep rolling to accumulate more, but roll all non-scoring dice and you lose your turn's points. Fast and exciting.
- Tenzi: Each player gets 10 dice. Roll all 10, set aside dice showing your target number, re-roll the rest. First to get all 10 showing the same number wins. Very fast, highly competitive.
Strategy Dice Games (Ages 12+)
- Liar's Dice: Each player has 5 dice under a cup. Players bid on how many dice of a given value exist across all players. Call "liar" to challenge. Last player with dice wins.
- Perudo (Dudo): Similar to Liar's Dice with a South American origin, played in many countries worldwide.
- Shut the Box: Roll two dice and flip down numbered tiles matching the roll total. Get all tiles down to win. Classic pub and family game.